| Age: | I am 20 | |
| Hair: | White | |
| I understand: | English, Russian | |
| My figure features: | My figure features is quite athletic |
This week she talks to two women who struck up a friendship last summer and started walking miles together every day. Cathy Kendall63, a retired writer who lives in Longview, Washington Yeni Woodall48, a school counselor who lives in Longview, Washington.
Cathy Kendall: I had all these irises that I had brought with me here from California. So I decided to put them up on Nextdoor and just give them away. She answered my ad. She was actually the only person who showed up on time. I think we talked for almost an hour that first day. The Northwest chill is a real thing. People tend to be reserved and insular, especially in Washington.
Yeni Woodall: I think things are clique-ish here. That makes a difference, as a new person moving to the town. I moved here in summer That first year, I was a little bit depressed, I think, so I did a lot of sitting on my couch. Cathy: We moved here in But when the pandemic hit, all the political stuff really started to heat up.
I felt like even more of an outsider.
There are a lot of very vocal Trump supporters in this town. You would go to the grocery store and see people without masks.
Her being from Austin, just like the Bay Area, where I come from—[both of those places are] a lot more liberal and progressive. So I think we both experienced some culture shock coming here. It was lonely. We connected immediately—we have different backgrounds, but we kind of see things the same way. Beck: Atlantic meeting people you offered up the irises, was that during the pandemic?
Cathy: August 8, We stood outside, far apart. We talked for almost an hour. If you ever want to come walking with me, let me know. Yeni: So she had to show up. That was it. Cathy: Then we walked almost every day, weather permitting. Beck: Did your walks become part of your pandemic routine? Read: Hiking is an ideal structure for friendship. Cathy: Now we go to get coffee at our favorite coffee shop every Saturday morning, unless something comes up. Beck: What was it like to make a new friend during quarantine?
Cathy: It felt like a lifeline to me. I am an introvert. I prefer people one-on-one or in very small groups, but even so, I got lonely. I was tired of just talking to my husband. It was this ray of light.
Also, this friendship means so much to me because even before the pandemic, I had not been able to make a close friend here. I would have been depressed. I had a close friend who lives in California and I lost her to QAnon at the beginning of the pandemic. Completely down the rabbit hole. Having a rational, normal friend … We would look at the bumper stickers around town and just roll our eyes together.
Having somebody to commiserate with is so good. Read: The prophecies of Q. Yeni: I was just happy to talk with someone who also loves to read. Cathy: We love the same music too. Yeni: I came as an adult to the United States, in my early 20s. So I learned English with TV and music. We never run out of stuff to talk about.
Sometimes we get into some intellectual conversations. Cathy: Yeah, very deep conversations. Beck: Are you vaccinated now? Are you getting back to some semblance of normal life? My daughter is pregnant through IVF. But yeah, we got vaccinated as soon as we could. I mean, I love her. Yeni: I do have other friends. I belong to an international coffee club.
But I have a lot more fun with her. I have done a little bit of lunch with other friends also. We celebrated my graduation and my new job; we celebrated that we got vaccinated.
Yeni: The celebration is getting out of hand. A lot of the time, you meet somebody in the world, at work, through other friends, through a Atlantic meeting people or something. And then as you get to know them more, you might have those deep one-on-one talks. Cathy: We started with the deep talks.
We went deep right away, talking about politics, religion, family, and sex. We probably got to know each other better and faster than we might have in normal times. But because we started walking, we have spent hours and hours together. Miles and miles.
Read: The pandemic has remade friendship. Nobody can hear us. It also felt a little fragile. Even though we were being careful. That means something to me. Those that were more casual kind of fell away. My husband, my family, my best friend. Yeni: I agree. My husband is pretty much my best friend. It was a good change for me to have someone who has fresh ideas. Also, I think that makes my marriage stronger.
Cathy: This is a really good point, because one person cannot ever meet all of your social and emotional needs. Having a really strong female friend is really important. And so that means the world to me, especially in such a difficult time.
Cathy: It is.
